Butler County karate instructor charged with sending teen sexual photos and messages

A karate instructor in Butler County is facing charges after police said he sent a teenager sexual text messages for several months.

According to the criminal complaint, Pennsylvania State Police started investigating 31-year-old Sean Cohen after getting a ChildLine report on Monday about a karate instructor at Shorin Ryu Karate Do International on East Main Street in Evans City who had sent over 1,200 texts to a teenager, including sexual photos and messages. 

Police said the text message thread between Cohen and the victim, who was 14 years old at the time, started in March and ended earlier this month. The victim told Cohen multiple times that she was uncomfortable, writing in one reply that "it's really creepy to be honest," the criminal complaint says.

In an interview, the victim told police that the photos Cohen sent made her uncomfortable, and his sexual text messages were "weird." She told investigators about one incident where Cohen acted inappropriately toward her in the dojo, which she also described as "weird." 

Cohen is facing 27 counts of disseminating explicit sexual material to a minor, as well as charges of corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.